Will Trump’s Twist On Gingrich’s “Politics As War” Beat Back Democrat’s Blue Wave?

In a 1978 congressional race in Georgia, a young and ideologically driven Newt Gingrich made his third bid for office. This time he won by appearing as a far-right conservative instead of his usual self-identified liberal Republican. What caused the change was meeting with Republican groups who he found were attracted to a more ruthless and cutthroat vision of politics than most were accustomed too. He in fact found a hungry right-wing base when he declared that Republicans were fighting a “political war” for their all out survival and identity. This included the very survival and identity of America too.(1)

Adding Take-No-Prisoners To Gingrich’s Politics Of War
Given Newt Gingrich’s key role within the Republican Party, it was the same kind of scorched-earth-strategy Donald Trump exploited to win the presidency. It was also the same kind he used to push through an agenda until Democrats, that is, swept more house seats than they had in 40 years. This explains why the president has ratcheted up attacks against anyone who disagrees or challenges him. Only now he’s added to Gingrich’s politics as war a take-no-prisoners mentality. It’ll surely test the Democrats fortitude, namely if they have the political smarts and courage to limit the president’s power.

Donald Trump’s take-no-prisoners (more like take-no-journalists) battle tactics was clearly evident with CNN’s Jim Acosta. Calling him a “disgrace” during a fiery exchange was only the start. The president also accused him of being “a very unprofessional man” and “not very smart.”(2) He was also escorted out and blacklisted. The White House then continued their line-of-attack by airing a doctored video showing Jim Acosta striking an aide’s arm reaching for the microphone. He continues to call other reporters “loser” and “stupid” and repeatedly reminds people that the press and CNN is “Fake News.”

Take-No-Prisoners Slug Face With The Obamas
Newt Gingrich had already encouraged these scorched-earth tactics years earlier. He warned a small but effectively growing Republican base to stop using nice and mannerly “Boy Scout words, which would be great around the campfire, but are lousy in politics.” He more so declared Republicans were fighting a major war and it’s a war for power. Accordingly, “This party does not need another generation of cautious, prudent, careful, bland, irrelevant quasi-leaders but people who are will to stand up in a slug-fest.” This, he said, was the primary purpose of a political leader. It’s now been found in Donald Trump.

Consequently, neither did it didn’t take long for Donald Trump to slug-it-out with First Lady Michelle Obama. He fired back at her remarks in her upcoming memoir about how she would never forgive him for her husband’s birtherism which she found “crazy, mean-spirited and dangerous.” Suggesting she wrote the book to make money, he said “I’ll never forgive “[Barack Obama] for what he did to our United States military. By not funding properly, it was depleted.”(3) He added, nor would he forgive him for what he did in many other ways-which he was going to talk more about in the future.

Onward Patriotic And Christian Identity Soldiers!
Newt Gingrich also laid the ground work for this kind of take-no-prisoners rhetoric. Although his politics as warfare was at odds with some Republicans, he discovered he could add to his base by bucking established norms of civility and bipartisan cooperation. In fact, he found his loyalists loved his over-the-top rhetoric, including describing Democratic rivals as “corrupt,” “sick,” and wanting to ultimately “destroy our country.” This new wave of polarization rooted in growing public discontent among Republicans and “those left behind” is exactly what Donald Trump has tapped into.

This far-right “America First” and Christian identity movement is what Donald Trump continues to exploit. Consisting of white workers without a college education, they’re most concerned about immigration and terrorism. Analysis also shows they respond to vitriolic rhetoric that restricts immigration across the board, wants to build a wall, deport illegal immigrants, and ban Muslim immigrants. They moreover believe it’s important to have lived in the U.S. most of your life, been born in America, and be a Christian. It includes believing that discrimination against white people is a major problem.(4)

Take-No-Prisoners Attacks Rule Of Law And Rights
This explains too why Donald Trump is now attacking the rule of law and certain rights, something a take-no-prisoners order always does. Along with new rules that slam the doors on any refugee asylum claims on the southern border, he’s replaced his attorney general-who had recused himself-with someone that wants to stop Robert Mueller’s Investigation. This, on the heels of the president intervening in the ongoing recounts in Florida, Georgia and Arizona, and calling a judge’s ruling to stop the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline a “disgrace”-including the protesters and their right to assemble.

If Democrats think their blue surge is going to overcome Trumpism, they’d better think again. They have a Republican-led Senate, ultra-conservative Supreme Court, and host of corporate donors and Wall Street that’s fallen in love with the president’s tax cuts to battle. Besides Congress as a collapsed institution, there’s state-ran news and radio and armies of mobilized Trump supporters. In this political minefield, Democrats will have to tread carefully. They’d be battlefield smart to start appealing to former disaffected Trump voters and working classes. This includes real immigration and healthcare reform.

Political Summary Executions And Nuclear Option
For now, Donald Trump knows he’s a wounded animal and feels cornered. Considering what Bob Woodward wrote in “Fear: Trump in the White House,” namely that the president liked “to get power over people, to crush them, to demean them;”(5) don’t be surprised if his politics as war and take-no-prisoners turns into political summary executions. Maybe even some kind of nuclear option.

Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John’s Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.WN.com. You can read more of Dallas’ writings at www.beverlydarling.com and www.WN.com/dallasdarling.

(1) Livitsky, Steven and Ziblatt, Daniel. How Democracies Die. New York, New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2018., p. 147.
(2) www.cbsnews.com. “Michelle Obama Memoir Describes Trump’s ‘Birther’ Campaign, Her Journey As First Black Lady.” November 9, 2018.
(3) www.commondreams.org. “‘You As a Lot of Stupid Questions’: Latest Attack on Free Press as Trump Threatens to Strip Credentials of Journalists Who Don’t Show Him ‘Respect,’” by Jake Johnson. November 9, 2018.
(4) Judis, John B. The Nationalist Revivil. New York, New York: Columbia Global Reports Publishers, 2018., p. 67.
(5) www.yahoo.com. “Bob Woodward Reveals What Donald Trump Trait Gave Him ‘A Chill,’” by Lee Moran, HuffPost. November 10, 2018.